Monday, November 29, 2010

2011 TVB Sales Presentation

As I was writing up a response to DTLCT’s sales presentation post, I figured I might as well do my own blog post on it as well, since I have so much material written up already.

Ok, after watching the clips, here are my comments (for links to the actual clips themselves, go the above thread in AF):

Back to the Three Kingdoms 回到三國 -- I WAS looking forward to this one, but now after watching the clip, I'm starting to have doubts. First, the comedic elements part was a bit lame -- I hope they don't try to incorporate that because it would be dumb. Second, it seems to me like another 'recycled idea' -- pretty much a remake of "A Step into the Past" theme but with different artists and with a comedic element added. I still hope they actually make this one, but not in the way that they presented it in the clip.

Colorful World of Sister Fa 花花世界花家姐 – I’m sorry, but this one looks beyond lame to me. Like I said before, it’s pretty much a remake of “Life Made Simple” except the female version. And Charmaine really does NOT look convincing to me in the clip – it seems to me like she was trying way too hard to be a mentally challenged person and it just didn’t fly with me. Plus I’m not too keen on the cast either (I pretty much don’t like anyone in the cast)….though I will say that the series will definitely do well in the ratings because both Raymond and Charmaine have a lot of fans, so they will tune in just to watch them (doesn’t really matter how the script turns out).

Yes Sir, No Sir 點解阿Sir係阿Sir – Don’t like this one either….the cast doesn’t impress me first of all and the whole “school” thing has been recycled way too many times already…I think I would be able to endure the recycled theme if the series actually had a cast I liked (i.e. “Shine on You” which was also the recycled ‘school’ theme but it at least had a cast that I liked – even if the script was so-so, just watching the fine actors do their magic was a treat in itself). Let’s see if things end up changing – if not, then it will probably be a “no” in my book.

The Boxing King 拳王– Ok, one question: is this supposed to be a tragedy or a comedy? They certainly didn’t do the clip too well because the last few seconds were extremely lame. Again, I’m not too keen on the cast, but that’s not the reason why I don’t want to watch it – the reason is because I absolutely hate sports-themed series / movies because they bore the hell out of me (yes, I’ve tried watching quite a few and never got through the first half of the series/movies). So this one is a definite “no” for me.

King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes 萬凰之王– I think I’ve commented on this one before and even after watching the clip, my opinion has not changed. I love Sunny and ok with Jessica too and was looking forward to another collaboration with the two – BUT TVB had to go and add Myolie into the series…and not only that, it seems that Myolie will have more screen time than Jessica (well, that’s the impression I’m getting because in every single thing I’ve read from TVB introducing the series, Myolie’s name is listed first, before Jessica’s and sometimes even before Sunny’s). Everyone knows how much I hate watching Myolie’s series because I absolutely just cannot stand her (and for sure there will be crying scenes in this series, which means TORTURE) – plus I’m still bitter (at TVB) for pairing Myolie with Sunny in “War and Destiny”, which is a series I would have liked a lot if it weren’t for Myolie and also that upcoming “Flying Fish” series where she is paired with Julian (lover) and Damian (father). Oh and of course that joke of a series with Gallen (the Cat and Dog one). Ughh!!! (Note to TVB: STOP PAIRING MYOLIE WITH MY FAVORITE ACTORS!!!!!). I think I’m going to protest this series just because of Myolie – plus I’m quite sick of the whole Qing dynasty theme too (another recycled idea…please don’t tell me that this is another “War and Beauty” wannabee!!!!).

The Truth 真相 -- finally, a series that actually looks promising! Just like DTLCT said, I’m not too keen on the female cast either, but the male cast looks interesting….plus, it looks like there will be a lot of guest stars in this one, which is another thing to look forward too (oooh, Kenneth Ma looks like he will be playing a baddie, which will surely be interesting to watch!). I read some stuff about this series earlier and it looks like it’s going to be one of those “Files of Justice” type series, which I’m ok with because there is so much material that can be done with lawyer series (unlike other themes, lawyer and doctor themes are more easily recycled without seeming too lame). So far, this looks like a keeper….

The Gods.com 福祿壽.COM– so WHAT is the point of this show, may I ask? Just to spoof the various series and get a good laugh? Sorry, but I can get a good laugh from watching a good comedy, so don’t need this junk for that. I’ve actually never liked the whole parody / spoofing / imitation stuff because I just think it’s lame (that’s why I’m not interested in watching the ‘three gods’ perform). I’m definitely skipping this one, as I have a feeling that watching this show will make me feel ‘dumb’…

Relic of Emissary 洪武三十二 – I didn’t recognize the English title at first, but then when I watched the clip, I realized that this is the ‘Hongwu 32’ series that was originally touted as the ancient version of “The Academy” (since it had similar cast). Even back before the clip came out (when they were showing all the cast pictures and behind-the-scenes filming stuff), this was already a ‘skip’ in my book, as I’m completely turned off by the cast (I don’t like anyone in the series – well, none of the main leads at least). After watching the clip, I’ve reaffirmed my ‘skip’ decision even more because the series just looks extremely boring and lame.

Psychological Warfare 心戰– Um, ok…looks way too intense for my liking (some of the stuff shown in the clip looked like it was borderline horror)…plus I’ve never been too keen on Adam Cheng, though I’m not opposed to watching his series if the script/storyline is good. And so far, this is the only series with a female lead that I actually like (Maggie) – hmmm…the sales clip actually plays out like a movie, which I think may be a disadvantage because the series probably will not be able to deliver in terms of the horror / suspense piece (there are certain limitations / restrictions in the TV world that are not there in the movie world). This one may be better off scrapped and made into a movie instead….

Mahjong Flying Southeast 麻雀東南飛 – Oh, so THIS is the series I was reading about on Weibo (when I saw the pictures, I was wondering what series they belonged to). Finally, a cast that I like (Raymond, Kenneth, Ruco, Crystal, etc.) and a comedy at that – plus, based on the clip, it looks like this is going to be one of those ‘clever comedic’ pieces where the jokes are actually funny and not the lame type where one feels ‘stupid’ after watching it. Looking forward to this one (so far)….hopefully it actually happens though because based on what I read on weibo, it sounded like a ‘maybe’ in terms of moving forward with filming.

Only You 只有您 – don’t know enough about this one to make a decision on whether it will be a keeper or not (the clip was way too short and I couldn’t really figure out who the leads were supposed to be). I guess I’ll have to read up on this one more before I decide.

The Great Eunuch 大太監– first of all, Bosco as emperor? Really? Hmmm….ok, we’ll see. Though intense, this one actually looks promising to me – plus this is the only series out of the 12 showcased where nearly the entire cast is talented in terms of acting and can really give each other a ‘run for the money’ in terms of acting skill (well, except for Bosco and Tavia, both of whom I wouldn’t classify as ‘talented’ but at least they’re ‘tolerable’ in my book – depending on their characters that is). The others – Wayne Lai, Michelle Yim, John Chiang, Elliot Ngok, King sir, Susanna Kwan – are already proven talents…this sounds like it will be a high quality series…a keeper so far (unless TVB makes major changes to the cast).

4 comments:

If it does go through, I honestly hope they amend the ones you mentioned, especially Returning to Three Kingdoms. The pictures while they were still filming look intense YET like we both noticed, it was on the side of corny. I don't want it to be too much of a joke. It would waste everyone's time. They need to tune it up. OR something. IF not, they might as well scrap it. I might look forward to Steven's other series more IF it does get too silly.

The Truth - Surprisingly, the clip makes me want to watch more now. But just hope it's not just luring us in with those few promising scenes, lol.

Relic of Emissary - I thought it was supposed to be a serious one. Though like you, I didn't care much about it before BUT it just made me feel like it was a joke with how the scenes were presented.

Mahjong Flying Southeast - Yup, I was surprised to find out that I would like this one as well. Definitely NOT the typical corny ones where they try too hard to be funny.

I'm still crossing my fingers and hoping that they would amend the ones we mentioned OR I'll just skip.

Nothing interesting to me. The Great Eunuch look mature and deep and might be the only one caught my attention because the clip is un-TVBish. Wayne and Michelle are stellar without a doubt. To be fair, Bosco actually suits this particular emperor, because in history this is a helpless puppet emperor who's controlled by the empress dowager and Tavia looks fittingly beautiful as a tragic imperial consort. I think they were fine in the clip and while they have miles to go before they can reach the standards of 80's, 90's leads they were among the better bunch of the younger generation in my book. I still don't get the big hype about the famous Raymond Lam and Myolie Wu is totally cringeworthy.

DTLCT: Totally agree! Alot of the clips actually seemed very rushed and poorly put together -- that's one of the things that I've always hated about the sales presos....they try too hard to attract viewers and business sponsors, then at the end, they totally are not able to deliver! TVB really should just make up their minds on the lineup of series that they want for next year, then air clips of series that have already been filmed so they don't have to mis-lead the audiences like they always do.

As it stands right now, there really isn't a whole lot "worth watching" next year yet (I consider the "keepers" to be "maybes" for the time being until I find out more about those series)....my overall assessment of the series presented in the sales preso: almost all of them are lame, recycled ideas...

zzxyz: Hahaha...welcome to the "I hate TVB Management with a passion" club! Anytime you feel like ranting about TVB, let me know....lol! ;o)

Anyway, I agree that next year doesn't look very promising at all in terms of series. I remember last year and even the year before, there was at least 1 series that I was excited about and wanting to watch, to the point that I couldn't wait for it to air (GMG this past year and BR the year before that -- both primarily because of the cast)....with next year's series however, I don't get that feeling AT ALL....true, some of the series seem "interesting" and I may end up watching them anyway, but none of them give me that "exciting" and "can't wait to watch" feeling....goes to show how "crappy" the TVB-produced series have become.

Btw, no apology needed regarding your assessment of theGods.com -- because you are absolutely right about it being stupid and insulting our intelligence (besides, I had the exact same sentiment regarding that show)!